OTTAWA — French fries sold at major fast-food chains in Canada contain more than double the amount of salt of those sold at U.S. locations, according to a new international study that found salt levels in fast foods varied significantly in different countries.

Researchers compared the salt content in breakfast items, burgers, chicken products, pizza, salads, sandwiches and french fries sold at six major fast-food companies in six developed countries. The chains in Canada sold the saltiest sandwiches, salads and fries, while breakfast items, chicken products and pizza sold in the United States were the saltiest.

"We came either in the top or the second from the top in every single food category. That's one of the real startling things," the University of Calgary's Dr. Norm Campbell said of Canada in an interview.

The international team, which included Campbell, looked at the salt content in products sold at Burger King, Domino's Pizza, Kentucky Fried Chicken, McDonald's, Pizza Hut and Subway in Canada, the U.S., the United Kingdom, France, Australia and New Zealand.

In addition to these overall geographical trends, the study, based on 2010 data, found that individual items marketed as the same product had "very different levels" of salt in different countries.

For example, McDonald's Chicken McNuggets had 2 1/2 times more salt in the United States than in the United Kingdom (1.6 versus 0.6 g of salt per 100 g).

The study also found a "marked variation" in the salt content of products within each of the seven categories studied, with a five-fold or greater difference in the salt content per 100 grams between the least salty and the most salty product in each category.

The authors say the results suggest technical issues, often cited as a barrier to salt reduction initiatives, are not the issue.

"The salt content of fast foods varies substantially, not only by type of food, but by company and country in which the food is produced. Although the reasons for this variation are not clear, the marked differences in salt content of very similar products suggest that technical reasons are not a primary explanation. In the right regulatory environment, it is likely that fast food companies could substantially reduce the salt in their products, translating to large gains for population health," the study concludes.

"Governments setting and enforcing salt targets for industry would provide a level playing field, and no company could gain a commercial advantage by using high levels of salt."

That's why the federal government should consider the findings of the study and revisit its sodium-reduction strategy to require reformulation, said Campbell.

"They don't have a public-health agenda and perhaps what's unreasonable is that we would expect that they did," he said of the food industry. "The clear message is the model of asking industry to be good corporate citizens just does not work."

After setting up a Sodium Working Group in 2007 to develop, implement and oversee a plan to reduce dramatically the amount of salt in processed foods and items sold at chain restaurants, the government disbanded it early last year before it could track over the next five years whether companies were reducing the level of salt in their items.

Last November, Ottawa killed a proposal developed by federal and provincial officials that would have outed companies for failing to meet specific sodium-reduction targets for individual products.

A previous study published in 2009 by the British-based World Action on Salt and Health also found variations in salt levels in the same processed food products from one country to another.

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